The Art Of Love
by btamamura
Summary: Sequel to Sketches Of Time Gone By. While preparing Tracey's gift, Cilan recalls the day he felt he wasn't very good at art. Shounen-ai. Starchshipping. Tracey x Cilan


**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters, they are the property of Tajiri Satoshi and Nintendo. If I did, it'd be a certainty that Tracey and Cilan would meet._

_**Notes: This is the sequel to **__Sketches Of Time Gone By__**. This is an AU-fic, so there are no Pokemon. This is a Starchshipping fic, which means it's a romantic relationship between Tracey and Cilan, thus making it shounen-ai. If you don't like that, then please leave now. If you do, then I hope you enjoy!**_

Cilan happily hummed to himself as he added the ingredients to the bowl. Tracey's birthday was that day, and he wanted to give his beloved something special. For his own birthday earlier that year, he'd received a sketchbook full of images of times that he and Tracey had spent together. He knew Tracey never wanted to give his sketches to anyone as he always felt they weren't good enough. Because of that, he wanted his gift to be just as special, just as creative.

Cilan was like Tracey when it came to a love of art. However, unlike the taller male, he'd never been very good at it. He had tried to never let it get him down, but one day, it did upset him.

_**They received their report cards for the semester and looked at them. They were both doing well in their studies, but they both had a subject they needed to work on. Tracey chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "History still doesn't agree with me, huh?" He loved learning about everything that had happened in the past, it was just that sometimes, he tended to zone out in class, thinking about something from days of old that he'd like to draw. Because of that, his grades slipped. "How did you do?"**_

_**"I didn't get a good result for Art," Cilan sighed. He paid attention in class, he tried doing everything he was meant to. He'd even asked Tracey for numerous tips to improve with those skills. Even though he did what he could to improve, his results were never good enough. "In fact, it's worse than last time."**_

_**Tracey put a reassuring hand on his best friend's shoulder. "It'll be alright, maybe if you keep practicing..."**_

_**"It doesn't matter because I'm just not good at it!"**_

_**Tracey reeled back slightly, he'd never seen Cilan lose his composure like that. He hadn't realised just how much this bothered his best friend. "I'm sorry."**_

_**"Why are you apologising? If anything, I should apologise for snapping at you just now. I am sorry for speaking to you in that tone."**_

_**"It's alright, I understand you're frustrated. I'm sorry I hadn't realised just how much your grades in Art have been bothering you."**_

_**"It's alright. I never really gave a sign that it was. I don't get it...I love art too, so why is it that I'm not good at it? You've taught me so much, but even when I put it into practice, it never comes out right. That's not just my opinion either, judging by my grades."**_

_**Tracey looked thoughtful. He smiled slightly. "Hey, school's over for the day, so let's just do something to unwind from it, okay?"**_

_**"Okay..." Cilan rose from his seat and gathered his books into his arms.**_

_**They sat at a booth in the ice-cream shop. Cilan had a chocolate mint, and Tracey was eating a hot fudge sundae. Cilan had to admit that he was feeling a little better since he wasn't staring at the grade that brought him down. **_

_**"Hey, I was thinking. Maybe Visual Art isn't your type." Tracey scooped some more of his sundae into his mouth and swallowed.**_

_**"What do you mean?"**_

_**"There is more than one form of art, you know? There's Performance Arts, like music. You're very good at singing."**_

_**"That's not special though, a lot of people are." Cilan sighed and stared at the ice-cream sitting in the bowl before him. "I want to do something creative. Just like how you're able to sketch everything that comes to mind."**_

_**"Oh, well...those are just rough..."**_

_**"I beg to differ. They're lifelike. They're beautiful. I don't normally envy anyone for anything, but I'm ashamed to admit that I envy your talent."**_

_**"Cilan..." Tracey thought hard. How could he help his best friend regain some self-confidence?**_

_**"Ah...I'm really starting to bring you down as well, aren't I? I'm sorry about that." He continued eating his ice-cream.**_

_**Tracey let out a quiet sigh and resumed eating his sundae. He paused every so often, concern starting to overwhelm him.**_

_**They returned to Cilan's house, not surprised to see Cress and Chilli were still out. They saw Telisha sitting at the kitchen table, pondering what should be for dinner that night. "Hello, Mother," Cilan greeted.**_

_**"Hi, Aunty Telisha," Tracey greeted. Ever since they were children, it had been a habit for them to address each other's mothers as **__Aunty__**, which neither woman minded. Even as a teenager, Tracey continued to address Telisha as **__Aunty__**, just as Cilan continued to refer to Tracey's mother as **__Aunty Marie__** whenever they would talk about her.**_

_**"Hello, Cilan. Hello, Tracey. How was school today?" Telisha responded.**_

_**"About the same. We got our report cards today," Cilan replied to the question. He removed his backpack and pulled out the card. "Here."**_

_**Telisha accepted the card with thanks. She had a look at it. "You've done very well for yourself, Cilan, you should be proud." She didn't mention the grade he got for Art as she knew he was struggling in that class. The last thing she wanted to do was make him feel bad. "Tracey, will you be staying for dinner tonight?"**_

_**"I'd love to, but Miss Delia already organised something for tonight." Delia used to be his next door neighbour, but he started living with her and her son Ash when he was nine years old after his parents passed away. He addressed her as **__Miss Delia__** because she didn't like being addressed as **__Mrs. Ketchum__** but he wanted a polite way to address her. Since then, any children she met addressed her that way. **_

_**"That's a shame. Well, you know that you're always welcome here anytime."**_

_**He nodded. "Thank you for opening your home to me all these years."**_

_**"It's quite alright, you are like family after all. Anyway, I'll start dinner now."**_

_**The teens nodded. Cilan took hold of Tracey's hand and pulled him out of the kitchen and to his bedroom.**_

_**Tracey was concerned at that gesture. The only times they held hands was when they felt insecure about anything. The firmer the grip, the more insecure they felt. Cilan's grip was quite firm, so he knew he was still upset about failing Art again.**_

_**They sat in the bedroom, both sitting on the bed. "Cilan, it's still bothering you, isn't it?" It was more of a statement than a question. He knew his best friend was still upset.**_

_**Cilan let out a sigh. "I shouldn't let this get to me like this. I mean, it's nothing to be upset about." He hung his head. "So, why does it make me feel this way?"**_

_**"You love being creative, so for your creativity to be going to the wrong place, it's not helping your self-confidence." He brightened. "That's it!"**_

_**"What's it?"**_

_**"Your creativity is going to the wrong place! You're feeling held back! You need to find where you can make it shine!"**_

_**"How do I do that?" He looked up at his slightly taller friend.**_

_**"Keep trying it in all areas. It will come to you one day. I promise."**_

_**"Thanks, Tracey." Cilan smiled, this time, it was genuine.**_

_**There was a knock on the door. "Cilan, Tracey, could you please come help me for a minute?"**_

_**"Okay, Mother!" He got to his feet and helped Tracey stand.**_

_**Telisha had been baking a cake that afternoon for dessert. She wanted to decorate it, but she had to take care of dinner as well. "If it's not too much trouble, could you two please decorate the cake?"**_

_**"Of course. It's no trouble at all, Mother." Cilan had a look at the bowls of icing, some sugar flowers and some piping bags. "How would you like it decorated?"**_

_**"Anyway you'd like is fine, Dear."**_

_**Tracey caught onto what Telisha was doing. He silently chuckled. He knew this was exactly what Cilan needed for the confidence boost. "So, Cilan, any ideas?"**_

_**Cilan stared at the different colours. While he wasn't good at art, he was still able to put the theory into practice when it came to colours. He could see none would clash, thus making the cake unsightly. He thought hard and an idea hit him. "I know exactly what to do!" He picked up a spatula and the bowl of pale green icing. He started to smooth the icing over the surface carefully, making sure there were no bumps, making it nice and even.**_

_**Tracey saw the concentration on his friend's features, he wondered if that was how he looked when he was sketching something. It was rare for him to see such focus in Cilan's eyes, even in classes he didn't appear too focused. He watched as the icing was smoothed out evenly. He felt like he was watching an artist painting on a canvas. **__Of course! Cooking is an art! How Cilan can think he's not an artist after this, I won't understand..._

_**Pleased with what he'd done so far, he next picked up the bowl of pale blue icing and another spatula. He carefully added a circle to the surface of the cake. He then scooped some of the icing into a piping bag and carefully added tiny waves over the surface. He filled another piping bag with pale pink icing and carefully dotted around the blue circle. Finishing with that, he picked up some of the sugar flowers and placed three to the right of the circle. **_

_**Tracey could see a picture was forming. He knew what Cilan was doing. He watched as green icing was added to a piping bag and carefully added to the surface. **_

_**Cilan was almost finished with his work. To finish, he filled the final piping bag with the pure white icing, and dotted around the edge of the cake surface. He put down the piping bag and stepped back to admire his work.**_

_**Tracey clapped a hand on Cilan's shoulder. "And you say you're not good at art."**_

_**Cilan wondered what he meant by that. "I'm not..."**_

_**"Yes, you are! What you did just now was art! It may not have been with paints, it may not have been on a canvas. But, you still created beauty. See?"**_

_**It finally hit him. "I..."**_

_**"It looks like we found where your creativity can come out to shine!"**_

_**Cilan turned around, carefully pushed Tracey back from the table so any slips wouldn't affect the masterpiece sitting on the table for all to see, then he wrapped his arms around him. "I did it..."**_

_**"You did." Tracey returned the embrace.**_

_**Telisha watched their display of affection and just smiled. She thought nothing of their physical affection towards each other, she knew that was just how they were when it came to the other. "I'm glad your spirits have been lifted, Dear."**_

_**Cilan turned to face his mother. "Thank you so much, Mother."**_

_**"If you'd like, in the future, you can help me out with cooking meals. I already know you're excellent at that. I'd like to see your creative twists added to each dish."**_

_**"Of course! I'd be happy to!"**_

Cilan added the final touch to the cake. The candle. He heard the door open and close, and smiled in relief that he'd finished his gift before Tracey returned from lunch with Delia, Ash and Misty.

Tracey entered the kitchen. "Hey, Cilan."

"Hello, Tracey. A very happy birthday to you."

"You already said that this morning," he chuckled. "But, thank you again." He stepped over to Cilan and pulled him into an embrace.

Cilan returned the embrace. "How was lunch?"

"It was good. Miss Delia taught Misty how to cook and she helped prepare it today."

"How is their little one doing?"

"The doctor said they'll be parents come next week, from what Ash told me."

"That's wonderful!" He leaned closer to his beloved. "Hey, Tracey?"

"Yeah?"

"I never thanked you properly for the sketches you gave me earlier this year."

"You did."

"I still felt those weren't enough. I know you don't like sharing your sketches as you still feel they're not good enough." He pulled back from the embrace enough to turn around. "I made this for you."

Tracey looked at the three layer cake sitting on the table. It was fully decorated with icing of different colours. On the top of the cake, there was a birthday message written in green icing and a small picture of Tracey near it. "This is incredible!"

"I remember when I doubted I'd ever find where my creativity could shine. You tried to reassure me that I'd find it. Then, Mother asked of me to decorate a cake she'd baked, and when I was finished, you told me that my creativity comes out in my cooking. Because you shared one of your creations with me for my birthday, I wanted to do the same for you."

"I love it."

Cilan blushed and turned back to face his beloved.

"Thank you so very much, Cilan." He tightened his embrace.

"It was no trouble at all. Nothing ever is when it comes to you. I love you, Tracey, very much."

"I love you too, Cilan, more than I can ever express."

Cilan leaned up a little and allowed his lips to meet with Tracey's in a tender kiss, the cake leaving his mind for those few seconds.

Tracey knew he'd never forget the cake for the rest of life, the image now imprinted on his mind. He truly appreciated Cilan putting in that much hard work for him.

_**There we go, that's the end. I hope you enjoyed reading this fic. May Tracey and Cilan meet in the anime one day.**_


End file.
